In the world of alpinism, the Alps occupy a special place. There is no other mountain range in the world that can compare
with the spectacular summits, fantastic climbing and ease of access. Where
else can you leave your hotel early in the morning, complete
a high alpine mixed route, on fine granite, surrounded by sparkling glaciers,
and return in the evening to town for a well deserved gourmet meal, sipping
your wine as the alpenglow settles over the Aiguilles above? It's incomparable.

Climbing,
learning, and self-exploration are personal endeavors, best achieved when
you have the freedom to move at your own pace and in ways best for you.
All of our mountaineering programs in the Alps is on a custom, personal
basis. We do not offer group programs, matching strangers with whom you
might not be compatible, either technically, physically or personally.
Our custom programs help individuals or private groups to achieve their
personal and climbing goals more quickly and with greater rewards. For
more discussion of the advantages of a custom climbing program go to our
Choosing a Guide page, see the section
entitled Climber to Guide Ratio.

There is an inexhaustible supply of incredible routes
in the Alps, and we can only scratch the surface with the suggestions
we make here. In the list below we have chosen a few of our favorite routes.
It was tough deciding what to include and what to leave out. There are
literally thousands of great climbs, and a person could spend a lifetime
wandering from valley to valley, picking off the gems. But we had to draw
the line somewhere, rather arbitrarily I'm afraid.

Many of the climbs listed can readily be combined with
other nearby routes, stringing together long outings, either hut to hut,
or returning to the same hut each night. If you are curious about some
of these combinations look at the "Combine With" links on in
the gray info box on each climbs page. Or send us a note to discuss particulars.

Difficulty

We have divided up our selection in to four different
categories of difficulty. And we have devised a simple symbology to show
this. Click here to see a table
with explanations.